Numerous types of roof-mounted racks for carrying skis and the like have been devised in the past, all having various advantages and disadvantages, including initial cost of the rack itself, the ease with which the rack can be secured to and removed from the vehicle, the relative ease with which skis can be secured in the rack, the number of skis readily mounted therein, etc. In the past, a common type of rack included a pair of assemblies adapted to be secured across the vehicle, one near the front and the other near the rear of the top. Each assembly typically included a lower elongated member and an upper elongated member hinged to the lower member so as to pinch and thereby secure skis positioned horizontally therebetween. Such assemblies generally included means for locking the top and bottom member together to prevent the skis from sliding out, and rubber gaskets or other resilient cushioning means on the surfaces facing the skis to more firmly grasp and prevent marring the ski surface.
While such racks have enjoyed considerable popularity, difficulties in mounting skis therein, the limited number of skis that can be mounted in the racks, and the considerable wind resistance and vibration encountered when skis were mounted therein have been recognized. Such limitations have to some extent been avoided by a newer style rack having a plurality of vertically positioned parts between which, one or more skis, typically a pair of skis with the bottoms facing each other, may be positioned on edge. For example, one such rack is depicted in U.S. Pat. No. 3,836,058. The opposed ski pairs thus support each other, tending to prevent undesirable vibration due to air flow, and the opposing camber causes each ski to bear against one of the vertical posts, enhancing the firmness with which the skis are held in place. Typically, as exemplarily depicted in the '058 patent, such racks also include a lockable mechanism for moving opposing pairs of the posts toward each other to firmly engage pairs of skis therebetween. While such racks are fairly popular, they are also relatively expensive; relatively complex, and are apt to become difficult to operate due to ice and snow being jammed in the mechanisms; and present significant wind resistance.